James Thayil CMI

25/03/2026

22/08/2023

THE WAY PEOPLE VIEW YOU
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“Sometimes I think about the different characters I play in everybody’s story.
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I’m a terrible person in some people's narratives and a Godsend in others.
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And none of it has anything to do with the person I truly am.
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The lens that others view you through is coloured by their upbringing, beliefs, and individual experiences.
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Some people see your bright personality as endearing and others see it as annoying.
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Some people think you’re weak and emotional and others feel safe to be themselves around you.
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Some people think you’re rude and selfish and others respect the way you stand up for yourself.
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Some people admire the way you take pride in the way you look and others think you’re conceited.
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And none of it has to do with who you truly are as a person.
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What you have to understand is that you have no authority over how people view you so never try to control the way others see you because the only thing that truly matters when the dust settles down at the end of the day is what you genuinely see in yourself.”

(Cody Bret)

Live out your life the way you are.
Be the real you, in purity and truth, just as God has created you to be.
Be not carried away by the wind of opinions people might have about you.
Keep smiling—Jesus loves you; I love you, too!

03/10/2022

Sign of civilisation is love for the fellow being manifested in compassionate care. True love is the definite sign of life. Measure your life by the strength of your love.

17/08/2020

The power and base of communication

19/06/2020

THE DIVINE ROMANCE

I found love—true love—yes, I’m in love
A love that fulfills the deepest longings of my heart.
It’s not that I found this love
But the True Love found me; He fell in love with me!

The saga of His love is ever unfolding
Such is His love that no heart can ever fathom its depth.
No eyes can ever behold its beauty as it is
The universe in its entirety cannot contain it fully.

His design and will it was, that I should His lover be
His grace it was, that my heart should taste His love
His purpose it was that I delight in His presence
It was His joy that He be love, my sweet heart.

God He is, yet He thirsts for my love
Savior of the world, He desires my company
Eternal One, intimacy he seeks with me
It’s Divine Romance, no word can explain!

Were it not for Him, I would never have known love
I’m created for love sublime; I’m called out in love eternal
His very image and likeness I’m gifted with
The seal of His love He imprinted in my heart.

Jesus, my Love! You showed me what love real is.
In You I see, my God as a God of Heart!
Infinite, ineffable and invincible You are
Yet, You have a heart—compassionate for this passing world.

A gaze into Your heart reveals Your love that freezed time
Emptied Yourself from all divinity and dignity
Became man, assumed a body and heart humane
Embraced my weak self—defying all human logic!

Sheer love it was, deep from Your Heart,
That impelled You to embrace the wretched sinners
The sick, orphans and neglected, You made Your own
The rebellious and the prodigals, You made Your beloved!

Your heart is on fire, the fire you came to set the world in.
The fire of love consumes all that’s evil and impure
A ring of thorns adorns your heart
A thorn in the flesh, my sins, You endured to gain me for You.

Your Heart, O Jesus, is but an ocean of mercy
All who thirst will drink from the well of your Heart
Satiate You alone can, all the thirsts mankind keeps unquenched.
At the door of my Heart You stand knocking, yet, that I may let You in!

How sweet is Your love, O Jesus, Lord!
Your sweetness is gained through the bitterness you endured
The humiliation, rejection, betrayal, crucifixion and death—
All by those You seated in Your Heart and shared Your Love with.

The depth of Your Love You proved
In the blood You shed and the body broken
The forgiveness You gave and the compassion You showed
The death You embraced for love’s sake, that Love would never fail!

The grace of Your Love You shared beyond death
You let your Heart be pierced and open wide
A few drops of blood and water You saved on the Cross
To restore sight to the enemy who thrust a lance into Your Heart!

How ever can someone match Your love?
Divine romance, indeed it is, that Your Heart thrusts for me!
Every beat of Your heart, every thought in it,
O Jesus, how come, it’s all about me?

The doors of my heart O Lord, I open for You
Let my love find joy and bliss in Your Sacred Heart
In this divine romance let my Heart merge with Yours
And manifest ever true love, compassion, mercy and grace!

Let this romance divine never ever end
Let my heart for You ever beat, till my death I whisper Your Love
Let me hide my scars and tears in Your heart’s wounds
And become Your Love in this heartless world.

Keep smiling—Jesus loves you; I love you; too!
Fr James Thayil Cmi (18/06/2020)

01/06/2020

STRETCH YOURSELF, YOU CAN

A rewarding and refreshing experience, stretching is.
Stretching is inevitable in every bit of growth
Progress and success are scripted in a stream of stretching
Stretching, indeed, is the sign of life.

It’s determination that propels stretching
You set the standards each day
Try rising an inch higher day by day
You will touch the skies, one day for sure!

The strength you have is never utilized fully
Until the moment you are challenged to the core
Try lifting a baby elephant on a daily basis
You will keep lifting it, even a jumbo it grows up to!

Stretch the edges of your mind
Touch new horizons of knowledge each day
Swim in the ocean of wisdom
You will cross the unknown, the abyss and the deep space!

Flex your muscles, but more so of your heart
Show up the strength of your love
Stretch your hands in kindness
The distressed will feel comforted.

How far one can stretch, my Master showed on the cross
He stretched His hands, heart and His hope
He kept stretching even after His gruesome death
Blood and water poured out from His heart.

Stretch your patience in all seasons
You will save many troubles.
Stretch your compassion in all corners
You will see tears dry and joy abound.

Stretching resets limits and boundaries
The center and peripheries keep extending.
Believe in yourself, in your power and strength
Trust more, in the Divine, in the endless one!

Keep smiling—Jesus loves you; I love you, too!
James Thayil CMI (01/06/2020)

31/05/2020

A RHAPSODY OF VISITATIONS

Memories are weaved on visitations
A zillion colors and feelings arise in visitations of the heart
Melodies and maladies are all reasons for visitations
In my being and becoming visitations are etched.

The vignettes of my life are framed in visitations
For this my little life is but a visitation
From the bosom of God, from His Divine Home
Here I’m now, making my visitation in this world.

The sways of sights and the alluring dreams
The flashy splendor of this shifting world
They keep shifting, blinking and drowning me in
I stay on with conjured convictions that I belong here forever!

In the fullness of time, in the spine of history
From the throne of heavens, the Eternal Son sojourned
Light of lights visited the earth
Enlightened our minds and showed us our home!

The beauty of visitations yet, is found in Mary’s face
She set in haste to the house of Elizabeth
An explosion of joy, as she explored her heart
What a graceful thing, O blessed visitation!

I love visitations, and I long for more
When there are visitors at home, the dear and near ones
Gifts they bring, and food we share
Stories we weave and dreams we spin!

Visitations make me grow, me visiting places
Exploring the unknown, yet cherishing hospitality
Continents, countryside, people in all colors
Cultures vibrant and diverse, yet I adapt and make them mine!

Visitation is a paradox—that of the alien and the native
I remain an alien and a native wherever I go.
Yet, in every visit I find myself reflected in others
More the visitations, the more I appreciate the good in others.

Tragedies may come visiting me;
Yet, there are spells of luck visiting me, too!
Failures would be a constant visitor;
Yet I wouldn’t miss the angels of hope waiting at my door!

The most difficult visitation, yet is not into distant lands
It is into the heart, of my self, and others
A pilgrimage it is, to meet the true self in love
To visit the hurts, wounds and scars to get you healed.

I may never have held a visa for a distant land
Yet I could visit a thousand hearts
In prayer, in faith, and in memories dear
Enter the heart of God, there isn't a visitation, better than this, ever.

Keep smiling—Jesus loves you; I love you, too!
James Thayil CMI (31/05/2020

30/05/2020

MUSINGS OF THE MASKED-UP WORLD
The world is masked up in all sorts of things
From East to the West and South to the North
Infants and old, rich and poor
All are masked up, being scared of an enemy invisible.
Stand apart and cover your face
For, you can’t trust your friends and beloveds
Touch not, hug not, you cover your-self
Your enemy sprawls, growls and hides to devour.
Covid, they call, this chilling virus
Tiny thing, it has flattened yet the human pride
Helpless they stand--wealth and power, science and army
Mask up, cover up, and you stay safe!
God’s creation, He covered in grace!
Humankind was masked in love Divine
Garden of Eden was an open heaven
Yet, the virus of sin got man masked in fig leaves!
Beautiful earth, our common home!
It’s masked in ozone and many such layers of protection
This little heaven no enemy could attack
Yet human greed ruined the mask, polluted the earth and burned our home!
Planet earth, our beautiful home!
Vibrant with lives, flora and fauna
Each element protecting one another
Yet, man makes strides, equilibrium wrecked, all in progress’ name!
O! Man, wise and seat of power!
Where will you find enough masks for your kind
To shield you from all dangers and harms
That you have triggered with your wicked ways?
For long since you have been playing the game of “masking”
Your “persona” you keep changing at will.
“Covering up” is your habitual trait
Yet in all your masks, your dirty heart is revealed!
Hypocrisy is thy name, O! masked-up man!
For, your ugly mind, your sweet words hide.
Your deceitful heart your enthusing smiles conceal!
O! Whitewashed tomb! Come to the truth.
In my Master’s death, the curtains were torn
The skies were opened and secrets revealed!
Nothing more to hide, come to the light
Stay safe in truth, enveloped in grace.
Cover your face, not your heart
Hide your good deeds, not your guilt
Reach out and embrace those around
For the enemy you fear is within you, not outside.
Keep smiling—Jesus loves you; I love you, too!
James Thayil CMI (29/05/2020)

20/05/2020

STAY AWAKE

Wake up calls are everywhere—
In the mind, in the heart, in the soul
In the scorching sun, in the moon and the shining stars
In the rising waters and in the desert storms.

There’s also a pull within me to slumber and inertia
To carelessness and lazy games
I live in the midst of these two streams: Wakefulness and slumber.
I’ll be remembered or ignored for how well I stayed awake each moment of my life.

To be awake, yet, is my privileged call
For, from nothingness I was awaken to being, to be human, in time
From the moment of conception till the moment of death
My vocation is to be awake and to awaken the world in style.

Behold, those very many who keep awake for me
My parents who kept awake even before I was born
The doctors, nurses, the security guards who keep watch at night
The policemen and the soldiers keep awake and secure my life.

The wakefulness of the government and my superiors
The chauffeurs and the captains who drive me and fly me safe
My teachers at school and the spiritual masters all along
Their wakefulness has made me what and where I’m today.

Every precious thing in life demands from me my watchfulness
Every special relationship calls for a constant wakefulness
Every moment, a breath I take, my body keeps awake and let me live
Wakefulness is the rhythm of my heart, as also the wings of my mind.

To keep awake is to be fully present—to oneself, to others and to the Absolute Self.
When your mind is awaken, you’ll enter the chambers of wisdom
If you let your heart awaken, you’ll taste the nectar of love, pure
In the awakening of your soul, you’ll taste Divine Bliss in an ecstatic move.

Awakening of the self in the watchfulness of the soul
Changes one to the zenith of perfection and glory—
A man fully awaken is the glory of creation
For, “the glory of God is man fully alive”.

“Will you not keep awake with me for a while”?
Slumber, sure, tempts me from becoming what I really am.
The spirit of God within me, yet, invigorates me to face the challenge
That I may rise and shine in awareness, wakefulness and watchfulness.

Keep smiling—Jesus loves you; I love you, too!
James Thayil CMI (19/05/2020)

18/05/2020

CIRCLES AND RIPPLES OF LIFE

Life is but a bundle of circles, invisible;
Circles of relationships, attitudes, values, energies and ideals.
Circles make ripples in the hearts, and they keep moving�
As you keep growing, the circles chase your dreams.

Everything in creation exists in circles, as they move
The planets, the stars, the atoms and their nucleus
From birth to death one moves in a circle of grace
Cyclical or spiral, you keep moving, from time to eternity.

The circle of heaven embraced you in your mother’s womb
You were born into the care of a family circle
Each little step you took and every feeble voice you made
Your life sap, blood and energy, all move, in a rhythmic cycle.

Your hands and heart reached out and touched many other lives
You entered into the circles of friendships, some intimate, some for profit
Clever, as you are, you set boundaries around those circles
That no one may cross these circles lest they violate your rights.

Some circles you kept closed
Yet some kept open, as with an endless hope.
There were circles that defined your life
And some circles you wrongly entered!

You are also enveloped by a circle of faith
The Spirit of God within you and around
A halo of grace moving you to the heights of peace;
“The angles of God encircling you in care and protection”.

The circle of protection set in the Garden of Eden
For happiness and bliss, but man dared and crossed
Therein he entered into a circle of sin, rippling into doom and death
The circles of darkness still vie for space, in every heart, mind and soul.

Enlarge your circles of light and love
Delight in the ripples pure love and faith make
Stay safe in circles of care at home;
The bugs of death are sprawling around.

Circulate with others the blessings you received
For, that is the law of life, growth and joy
Smile innocently and wish well to all those you meet
Every thing you do this moment has a ripple effect.

Keep smiling—Jesus loves you; I love you, too!
James Thayil CMI